Saubermacher Dienstleistungs AG, Hans-Roth-Straße 1, 8073 Feldkirchen bei Graz, Austria.
Department of Design Manufacturing and Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde, 75 Montrose Street, G1 1XJ Glasgow, UK.
Waste Manag. 2020 Apr 1;106:120-131. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.03.018. Epub 2020 Mar 20.
Wind power is a key renewable electricity source for Europe that is estimated to further develop significantly by 2050. However, the first generation of wind turbines is reaching their End of Life and the disposal of their blades is becoming a crucial waste management problem. Wind turbine blades consist primarily of reinforced composites and currently there is a lack of a sustainable solution to recycle them. The aim of this study is to estimate the wind turbine blade waste material for Europe until 2050 and is the first study adopting a high geographical granularity level in Europe, while distinguishing between offshore and onshore. In addition, the wind turbines' lifespan is not considered as a fixed value, but rather as a stochastic distribution based on historic decommissioning data. This study can support researchers, practitioners and policy makers to understand the future evolution of the blade waste material availability, identify local hotspots and opportunities and assess potential circular economy pathways. The results indicate that wind power capacity in Europe will reach 450 GW in 2050 with the respective total yearly blade waste material reaching 325,000 t. Findings for selected countries reveal that in 2050 Germany will have the majority of blade waste material from onshore wind and the United Kingdom from offshore. There is also a significant fluctuation in the yearly amount of waste expected at the country level, for several countries. Finally, local hotspots of blade waste material are identified.
风能是欧洲的主要可再生电力来源之一，预计到 2050 年将进一步显著发展。然而，第一代风力涡轮机已经达到使用寿命末期，如何处理它们的叶片已成为一个关键的废物管理问题。风力涡轮机叶片主要由增强复合材料制成，目前缺乏可持续的回收解决方案。本研究旨在估算 2050 年之前欧洲的风力涡轮机叶片废物量，这是在欧洲首次采用高地理粒度水平进行的研究，同时区分了海上和陆上。此外，风力涡轮机的使用寿命不再被视为固定值，而是基于历史退役数据的随机分布。本研究可以为研究人员、从业者和决策者提供支持，帮助他们了解叶片废物材料未来的供应情况，识别当地热点和机会，并评估潜在的循环经济途径。研究结果表明，到 2050 年，欧洲的风能装机容量将达到 450GW，相应的每年叶片废物量将达到 32.5 万吨。对选定国家的研究结果表明，到 2050 年，德国将拥有陆上风力涡轮机的大部分叶片废物，英国将拥有海上风力涡轮机的大部分叶片废物。在一些国家，每年预计的废物量也存在显著波动。最后，确定了叶片废物的局部热点地区。
